.410 bore
Encyclopedia
.410 bore, commonly misnamed the .410 gauge, is the smallest gauge of shotgun shell
commonly available. It has similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt
revolver
cartridge, though the .410 is significantly longer, up to 3 inches (76.2 mm), allowing many single-shot
firearms and some revolver
s chambered in that caliber to fire shot without any modifications.
sizes, .410 bore guns throw the least weight of shot, but are very easy to handle. This results in a very low recoil
, so the .410 is often chosen for young shooters, who might have problems with a heavier recoiling shotgun. Some shooters however discourage the use of the .410 as an introduction for young shooters, both because the negligible recoil does not familiarize the beginners with the heavier recoil of larger cartridges such as the 12 gauge, and because of the difficulty in hitting moving targets with the small charge of shot used by the .410.
Others believe starting young/new/small shooters with large recoiling guns will cause a habit of flinching and negatively affect their accuracy.
Some competitive shooters choose the .410 bore because of the challenge it presents; .410 bore guns generally have full chokes to form a tight pattern with the small load of shot, and this makes hitting moving targets very challenging. By using sub-gauge inserts
, a 12 gauge break open action can be temporarily converted down as far as a .410 bore to provide additional challenge when training, or to handicap
the shooter.
The .410 bore is also commonly used for small game animals such as squirrel
s and rabbit
s, where the small diameter patterns of a full choke are less problematic than with birds.
The .410 bore is inferior to the traditional 12 gauge shotshell for defensive use, though a number of companies market defensive guns chambered in .410, such as the Mossberg 500
Home Security model. Defensive ammunition is becoming easier to find although most .410 bore shells remain loaded with birdshot. American Derringer and Winchester market .410 bore 000 buckshot with 5 pellets in 3 inches (76.2 mm) and 3 in 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) shells, compared to 12 00 pellets in a 3 inch 12 gauge, 9 00 pellets in a 2¾ inch 12 gauge or 8 000 pellets in 12 gauge.
s, with a .22 Hornet
or .22 rimfire rifle barrel mounted over a .410 bore shotgun barrel. The most famous of these is the M6 survival rifle made by Springfield Armory, Inc.
for the US Air Force, and a number of copies are made by other makers. The original has a 14 inches (355.6 mm) barrel, the same length as the stock, and folds in half for storage, making a compact package. With the short barrel, this is classified as a short barreled shotgun in the United States, so 18.5 inches (469.9 mm) barreled models are made for civilian sales, as well as a 16 inches (406.4 mm) pistol version in .22 over .45 Colt. Special flare cartridges in .410 were issued with the USAF model.
The Thompson Center Arms
Contender pistols are commonly encountered with a special .45 Colt/.410 bore barrel. The barrel is rifled for the .45 Colt, but has a special choke and vent rib to make it function as a shotgun. Due to the rifled barrel, the assembled firearm is considered a rifle or pistol (depending on barrel length) and thus is not subject to the National Firearms Act
18 inches (457.2 mm) minimum barrel length.
chamber has resulted in some unusual applications. While shotguns are often limited in minimum length
, a firearm chambered in .45 Colt, such as the Contender pistol, is not defined as a shotgun even though it can chamber shotgun shells. American Derringer has long offered .45 Colt/.410 bore Derringer
s, and recently Taurus
and Magnum Research
both began to offer revolvers with extended cylinders, chambered for .45 Colt but long enough to hold .410 shells as well. Magnum Research offers a single-action revolver in their BFR
(Big Frame Revolver) line, while the Taurus Judge
is similar in price to their other double-action revolvers. The now discontinued MIL Thunder 5
was also chambered in .410-bore.
Other fireams makers, such as Bond Arms, offer various derringer
models which chamber both .45 Colt cartridges and .410 shotshell.
Shotgun shell
A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with lead shot or shotgun slug designed to be fired from a shotgun....
commonly available. It has similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
cartridge, though the .410 is significantly longer, up to 3 inches (76.2 mm), allowing many single-shot
Single-shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded after each shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, and many centuries passed before multi-shot designs became commonplace...
firearms and some revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
s chambered in that caliber to fire shot without any modifications.
Origin
The .410 is a relative latecomer in shotgun sizes. It appears to have become popular around 1900. Some suspect that this shotgun arose from converted rifles of a similar bore diameter. The first ammunition was two inches (5.08 cm) long, compared with the modern 2.5 and 3 inches (76.2 mm) sizes.Uses
As the smallest of traditional shotgunShotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
sizes, .410 bore guns throw the least weight of shot, but are very easy to handle. This results in a very low recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
, so the .410 is often chosen for young shooters, who might have problems with a heavier recoiling shotgun. Some shooters however discourage the use of the .410 as an introduction for young shooters, both because the negligible recoil does not familiarize the beginners with the heavier recoil of larger cartridges such as the 12 gauge, and because of the difficulty in hitting moving targets with the small charge of shot used by the .410.
Others believe starting young/new/small shooters with large recoiling guns will cause a habit of flinching and negatively affect their accuracy.
Some competitive shooters choose the .410 bore because of the challenge it presents; .410 bore guns generally have full chokes to form a tight pattern with the small load of shot, and this makes hitting moving targets very challenging. By using sub-gauge inserts
Caliber conversion sleeve
A caliber conversion sleeve is a device which can be used to non-permanently alter a firearm to allow it to fire a different cartridge than the one it was originally designed to...
, a 12 gauge break open action can be temporarily converted down as far as a .410 bore to provide additional challenge when training, or to handicap
Handicap principle
The handicap principle is a hypothesis originally proposed in 1975 by biologist Amotz Zahavi to explain how evolution may lead to "honest" or reliable signaling between animals who have an obvious motivation to bluff or deceive each other...
the shooter.
The .410 bore is also commonly used for small game animals such as squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s and rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, where the small diameter patterns of a full choke are less problematic than with birds.
The .410 bore is inferior to the traditional 12 gauge shotshell for defensive use, though a number of companies market defensive guns chambered in .410, such as the Mossberg 500
Mossberg 500
Mossberg 500 is a series of shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, and...
Home Security model. Defensive ammunition is becoming easier to find although most .410 bore shells remain loaded with birdshot. American Derringer and Winchester market .410 bore 000 buckshot with 5 pellets in 3 inches (76.2 mm) and 3 in 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) shells, compared to 12 00 pellets in a 3 inch 12 gauge, 9 00 pellets in a 2¾ inch 12 gauge or 8 000 pellets in 12 gauge.
Survival arms
The small size of the .410 bore makes it popular for use in compact firearms carried for emergency use. Commonly these are combination gunCombination gun
A combination gun is a break-action hunting firearm that comprises at least two barrels, a rifle barrel and a shotgun barrel, often but not always in an over and under configuration; side-by-side variations are known as cape guns. A ' refers to a combination gun that has three barrels...
s, with a .22 Hornet
.22 Hornet
The .22 Hornet is a low-end vermin, small-game and predator centerfire rifle cartridge. It is considerably more powerful than the .22 WMR and the .17 HMR, achieving higher velocity with a bullet twice the weight. The Hornet also differs very significantly from these in that it is not a rimfire...
or .22 rimfire rifle barrel mounted over a .410 bore shotgun barrel. The most famous of these is the M6 survival rifle made by Springfield Armory, Inc.
Springfield Armory, Inc.
Springfield Armory, Inc. is a firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois, founded in 1974. It is one of the largest firearms marketers of imported firearms in the United States and is a four-time recipient of the National Rifle Association Gun of the Year Award.-Formation:After...
for the US Air Force, and a number of copies are made by other makers. The original has a 14 inches (355.6 mm) barrel, the same length as the stock, and folds in half for storage, making a compact package. With the short barrel, this is classified as a short barreled shotgun in the United States, so 18.5 inches (469.9 mm) barreled models are made for civilian sales, as well as a 16 inches (406.4 mm) pistol version in .22 over .45 Colt. Special flare cartridges in .410 were issued with the USAF model.
The Thompson Center Arms
Thompson Center Arms
Thompson/Center Arms Company is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company is best known for its line of interchangeable barrel single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson Center manufactures muzzleloading rifles and is credited with creating the resurgence of their...
Contender pistols are commonly encountered with a special .45 Colt/.410 bore barrel. The barrel is rifled for the .45 Colt, but has a special choke and vent rib to make it function as a shotgun. Due to the rifled barrel, the assembled firearm is considered a rifle or pistol (depending on barrel length) and thus is not subject to the National Firearms Act
National Firearms Act
The National Firearms Act , 73rd Congress, Sess. 2, ch. 757, , enacted on June 26, 1934, currently codified as amended as , is an Act of Congress that, in general, imposes a statutory excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain firearms and mandates the registration of those firearms. The...
18 inches (457.2 mm) minimum barrel length.
Handguns
The fact that the .410 bore shell fits in a .45 Colt.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
chamber has resulted in some unusual applications. While shotguns are often limited in minimum length
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
, a firearm chambered in .45 Colt, such as the Contender pistol, is not defined as a shotgun even though it can chamber shotgun shells. American Derringer has long offered .45 Colt/.410 bore Derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
s, and recently Taurus
Taurus (manufacturer)
Forjas Taurus is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Beginning as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction.-History:Taurus produced its first...
and Magnum Research
Magnum Research
Magnum Research Inc. is a privately held corporation based in Fridley, Minnesota which manufactures and distributes firearms. The majority owners, Jim Skildum and John Risdall , have been with the company since its founding in 1979...
both began to offer revolvers with extended cylinders, chambered for .45 Colt but long enough to hold .410 shells as well. Magnum Research offers a single-action revolver in their BFR
Magnum Research BFR
The Magnum Research BFR is a single-action revolver manufactured by Magnum Research. It is made from stainless steel and is manufactured in a variety of heavy calibers, such as .500 S&W Magnum, including some traditional rifle cartridges, such as the .30-30 and .45-70/.450 Marlin. The name "BFR"...
(Big Frame Revolver) line, while the Taurus Judge
Taurus Judge
The Taurus Judge is a five shot revolver designed and produced by Taurus International, chambered for .410 bore shot shells and the .45 Colt cartridge. Taurus promotes the gun as a self-defense tool against carjacking and for home protection...
is similar in price to their other double-action revolvers. The now discontinued MIL Thunder 5
MIL Thunder 5
The MIL, Inc. Thunder 5 is a large, double-action revolver chambered in the .410-bore shotshell cartridge. It is also designed to fire the .45 Long Colt revolver cartridge...
was also chambered in .410-bore.
Other fireams makers, such as Bond Arms, offer various derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
models which chamber both .45 Colt cartridges and .410 shotshell.
Capacity, compared to other gauges
| Length & Load | #000 Buckshot (.36") | #4 Buckshot (.24") |
| 2½", 410 bore | 3 or 4 pellets | 8 pellets |
| 3", 410 bore | 5 pellets | 9 pellets |
| 2¾", 12 gauge | 7 pellets | 34 pellets |
| 3", 12 gauge | 10 pellets | 41 pellets |
External links
- The Shotgun Report review of the Remington 870Remington 870The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
in 28 gauge and .410 bore - The .410 Bore by Chuck Hawks
- The .410: What Good Is It? by Randy Wakeman